PHB Review: Escape From Pelican Rock Island

Welcome to my review on the latest Poptropica island: Escape from Pelican Rock! This review was first published on my site, Slippery Raptor’s Blog. Special thanks to Slanted Fish for letting me play EFPR Island on her account! And now, here we go…

Warning: This post contains spoilers.

With the release of Escape from Pelican Rock, Poptropica proved it could still make a solid island adventure with just the right amount of challenge. EFPR is not your cliché hero island with you chasing the villain – it’s a quest like no other.

We PHB authors were so excited about this island that we already knew it was coming months before its release! It was first known as Prison Break Island but later became known as Escape From Pelican Rock. EFPR also had an island preview similar to Timmy Failure Island’s a month before it released. We were also shocked (and incredibly honored) to find this interesting Easter egg on the island:

After weeks of free prizes and photo booth specials on the island preview, it finally came without warning on December 10, 2015 for members. And now, let’s see how it plays out!

Storyline

Pelican Rock is the toughest prison ever built. And after you’re framed for a crime you didn’t commit, it’s your new home! Use your wits to devise an escape plan, and your nerve to pull it off. But getting out is just the beginning — because the real criminal is still out there!

We’ve been through a lot of prisons in Poptropica.Brave Tomato stated that these prisons flopped and got destroyed— whether it was a missing ghost prisoner, glowing meteorites, obsessed rulers, or even Old West bandits! How would Pelican Rock stack up to the rest?

Pelican Rock is a treacherous place no one would dare to enter. Aside from it being secluded from the streets of Bay City, Pelican Rock prison is feared for being home to the most notorious criminals of Bay City. Now things turn upside down when you try to do something good – collar a thief – and instead end up framed behind the bars of Pelican Rock!

A question bugged me while reading the plot: “How will I find my way out of a prison of maximum security?” The story is intriguing indeed. You’re being framed for something you didn’t do — how harsh.

Overall, Poptropica gave us a fresh spin from the fallen prisons of past Poptropica islands, and Pelican Rock proved to be stronger than the rest.

Gameplay

The gameplay of this island is fairly good. Since it just released, it’s more prone to glitches, but that’ll probably get fixed over time. While I was playing, I got stuck on the first day of work, and the player slides while eating. Although I struggled with a few bugs at first, it was smoother as I progressed.

I also liked the idea of having the NPCs (non-player characters) designed to be the same gender as your player — definitely a Poptropica first. Both the prisoners and police come with male and female counterparts!

The mini-games were also quite enjoyable. I thought making license plates and earning gum was a clever idea, and the vent puzzles were a nice touch as well. What I didn’t like as much was the repetition of each day, going back and forth trying to make a little progress at each turn. But that was all part of the story, so in a way it worked out. It was also pretty helpful to have Marion, the inmate at the metal shop, offer some hints to keep us from getting too stuck.

In conclusion, Poptropica gave us some pretty great and challenging gameplay on this island. Keep it up, Creators!

Soundtrack

The music track above greets you when you enter the island. I believe it’s one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard on Poptropica. It’s very calm and sets a soothing tone. As for the other tracks playing in the prison, it’s creatively made and appropriate to the respective rooms. I like how detailed the sounds can go! The radio in the cell block is a good example.

Mr. Jeff Heim, once again, you’ve done a great job with composing!

Animations & Design

Moving along, Poptropica also improved on their animations. One of the best scenes on the island was the police holding back Big Tuna. Other good examples were the food fight part and the end scene of the island!

The character designs were also created well. I loved the little details, like Florian’s shiny hair, Big Tuna’s unusual body structure, the abs on Bert, the rollerskating kid’s outfit, and of course, the boots on the Booted Bandit, the only permanent shoe-wearing Poptropican! They certainly did a great job here.

Last but not the least, the rooms were created wonderfully. I like how they made the Main Street to look so friendly and calm with the color palette they used. As for the prison, I like how it made it quite realistic and detailed from the cracks and the rust on the galvanized iron sheets.

Verdict

Poptropica definitely ended the year on a high note with this excellent island. Compared to the other three islands of this year, this brought on the best challenge. Kudos to Poptropica! I would definitely recommend you to play it when it releases to all at the end of the month.

If I would rate this out of 10, I think Escape From Pelican Rock gets… an 8.2!

The soundtrack was definitely one of my favorite parts about the island. When the demo thing was released, I just had Poptropica open in another tab with the music playing while I did random other stuff. 😛

This was a great island, but the glitches were horrible. When I went to get the painted potato head, the painter girl didn’t say anything about it, and when I tried to make a new one, it said that I shouldn’t make a second one. I didn’t want to restart since it was the first day it was out and there was no guide up yet. However, it fixed itself a few days later in the game, and I could move on with the quest. Took me almost 4 hours to complete.